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Media Availability with Secretary Carter at Naval Base New London, Connecticut

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ASH CARTER:  All right.  Once again, thank you all for being here. 

 

            I won't repeat what I've said at a couple of the earlier stops. But just to remind you of the significance of what we have seen here together. We've seen the builders, we've seen the operators, we've seen the innovators in the submarine force, which is, as I was telling the sailors a short time ago and told the workers at Electric Boat, is one of the sources of American superiority and one that we intend to keep, that undersea dominance, in the future.

 

            So we're doing a lot to ensure that is the case, so that means new submarines, new submarine design, having the design teams that can do that, incorporating new technologies of all kinds and new weapons of all kinds and new systems that they're connected to of all kinds. And above all, really excellent people to operate these complicated machines that you saw before you.

 

            So we'll have the opportunity to see a little bit more tomorrow for those who are traveling with us, but I don't see how anybody could but see these – that shipyard, these ships, those officers, those sailors without being incredibly proud and also confident, as I am, that we'll retain that undersea dominance.

 

            So with that, let me take questions.  Peter. You’re the impresario.

 

            STAFF:  We'll go to  –  (inaudible).

 

            Q:  Mr. Secretary, you talked about your confidence in the industrial base in this program.  Of course  –  (inaudible)  –  swimmingly, as it were, but  –  (inaudible)  –  react well with  –  (inaudible)  –  that are now  perhaps solved.  How big  and from your perspective, how big of  a lynch is that in the program?  And where does your confidence in this otherwise  –  (inaudible)  –  program stand?

 

            SEC. CARTER:  It  –  it  –  it  –  there  –  it was a propulsion system weld issue, I just want to make clear, rather than a reactor, per se.  It does have an effect, we've mitigated that effect. The Navy's working on the matter generally. I have a lot of confidence in their ability to do so and I'm sure they're  –  they're  –  they're on top of rectifying the problem.  But as far as the operational impact of the problem is concerned, we've taken some action to compensate for that or to mitigate that risk.

 

            Q:  Will it delay delivery of the Minnesota?

 

            SEC. CARTER:  It  –  the  –  the effect of it is yes, to delay the delivery of one of the new delivery boats, and that obviously creates an operational impact which we have to fill, and we're going to fill it as we promptly rectify the underlying problem.

 

            STAFF:  Jim?

 

            Q:  Mr. Secretary, I'd like to ask about the counter-ISIL fight in Iraq now with the Iraqi security forces starting their offensive?  Are there other accelerants that you see that the U.S. and the coalition could apply there now?

 

            SEC. CARTER:  We're  –  we're  –  we're prepared to do that and I  –  I  –  the commanders there have not brought any requests from the Iraqis, and as you I'm sure have seen, Prime Minister Abadi is in charge of this operation and is  –  is as in all of their operations personally involved, which is good.  He's had success in doing that in the past. 

 

            We are very supportive and we are doing all the advising and the air support and so forth that we  –  that they have asked for and that we  –  that our commanders, at this time, think would be helpful.  In this, as in everything else, we're always willing to consider doing additional things, and as you know, we have some that we expect to be doing as we move further north in Mosul.

 

            But the Iraqi forces have this planned out.  We are privy to those plans.  We're obviously supportive of the operation of retaking Fallujah from ISIL and we'll just see if there are additional capabilities that they would find helpful.

 

            But remember, they're already getting the very substantial, really quite incredible air support, all the ISR that goes with that, our intelligence support, our advise and assist support, our equipment support. 

 

            So there's a considerable weight of enabling.  But it's their fight.  And they'll  –  they've had considerable success in other places in recent times. And so that's the reason for the prime minister's confidence. 

 

            STAFF:  Question from the local press? 

 

            Q:  (OFF-MIC)

 

            CARTER:  Well, we've got to find the money.  That's, I think, what is being pointed to there. And it is expensive but it's essential. Navy has done a lot, as we've designed the Ohio replacement to control cost, stabilize design, which is key to control of cost. 

 

            But it is a substantial investment. It's necessary because it's a necessary part of the deterrent. So whatever we call that fund, the fund has to exist, because it's necessary to our future. And that's the important point.

 

            Q:  (OFF-MIC)

 

            CARTER: Well, we took that strike and I'm very satisfied that we had that opportunity, because force protection is our highest priority. 

 

            And we were able to strike someone who clearly had been involved for quite some time in plots to attack Americans. So that's very directly a threat to us.  And I was please that we were able to do that. 

 

            We do  –  I think your question was  –  as between what parts of the government take these things. And it's perfectly appropriate and necessary to take this strike. I'm pleased to have been able to do it. 

 

            I think that the president has been very intent on transparency insofar as that is possible in drone strikes. And that's an important consideration. But this is really applied case by case. And this was a case where, you know, uppermost in our mind was force protection and this individual's role in the Taliban in targeting Americans.

 

            Q:  (OFF-MIC)

 

            CARTER:  Well, we've talked to the Pakistani officials, our military officials have spoken to Pakistani officials and explained the necessity that we saw in taking this strike. We continue to work with the Pakistanis in lots of areas of counter-terrorism, work with them where they have concerns as well.

 

            And this was an area where because of the threat to the United States and the threat to U.S. forces, action was necessary, we had to take it. 

 

            STAFF:  OK.  One final question?  Brad?

 

            Q:  (OFF-MIC)

 

            CARTER:  Well, I mean, start at the beginning. The rebalance is a lot more than freedom of navigation operations. It's a whole program of enhanced activities in the Asia-Pacific, by the way, political economic as well as military, but insofar as speaking for the military part of it, it is shifting forces to that part of the world. 

 

            It is the modernization of those forces. It is the enormous pattern of bilateral and multilateral exercising we do. Partnerships with militaries in the region who are very eager to work increasingly with the United States. 

 

            So it's a whole lot of things that are intended to keep the system of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific that served the region so well for so long going, by keeping that kind of stability. 

 

            So it's a lot more than freedom of navigation operations that is animating both the United States and all of those in the region to do what we're doing, which is more, but for them to do more with us also. 

 

            And then as far as freedom of navigation is concerned, that's not just about the South China Sea, that's something we do worldwide.  It's not just about any one country, including China, which is, to get to your question, because the other claimants in the South China Sea, and we challenge those claims as well.

 

            These claims are things that ought to be settled in a peaceful way, not by militarizing them, not coercion, but settlement in a peaceful.  That's a principle we stand for all over the world. 

 

            And it's important all over the world, both in the South China Sea to the Arctic.  And the United States has been doing this, and other countries have been standing up for freedom of navigation for, you know, a couple of hundred years. 

 

            So it's pretty important, that's part of the global commons that carries commerce and so forth. So we're doing a lot more than freedom of navigation to preserve the security structure in the South China  –  I mean, in the Asia-Pacific region in general. 

 

            And FONOPs are not  –  and turning to the question of FONOPs - they're important everywhere, including the South China Sea. But they're important everywhere.  And we'll enforce them everywhere. 

 

            STAFF:  Thanks, everybody.

 

            CARTER:  Thanks, everybody.  Appreciate your being here.

 

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